French deny Rwanda weapons claim

The French government has denied allegations that French arms companies continued to supply weapons to the former Hutu-led government in Rwanda even after the start of the mass killings in 1994.

A French foreign ministry spokesman Yves Doutriaux said weapons deliveries were halted before the United Nations arms embargo was imposed on Rwanda in May, 1994.

A French newspaper, Le Figaro, had reported that French deliveries continued up to two weeks after the embargo.

The French government has previously denied that it cooperated with the former Rwandan government after the start of the genocide of Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service